CAA restores licenses of 15 pilots

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has restored the licenses of 15 pilots a day after suspending them.

According to a notification of the Authority as reported by the state-run Radio Pakistan, the pilots have been allowed to fly aircrafts now.

Their licences were suspended after they failed to submit their educational certificates.

The CAA on Friday had suspended licenses of over 28 pilots and served them show-cause notices.

The letter lists pilots from different airlines and reads that “the pilots used illegal means and deliberately presented forged record of the examination, in order to avail the Air Transport Pilot License (ATPL).”

Pilots whose names are in the list have been served show-caused notices and have been asked to surrender their air transport licenses with the CAA. They have also been barred from flying with immediate effect.

The pilots have been asked to explain as to why a disciplinary action should not be taken against them.

Last week, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had dismissed four captains among 50 officials from service over holding fake degrees.

A CAA report, on December 28, had revealed that at least five pilots of PIA do not even hold a matriculation certificate.

A Supreme Court bench heard a case pertaining to fake degrees of PIA pilots under the stewardship of Chief Justice Main Saqib Nisar at the Lahore registry of the apex court.

The CAA submitted a report to the court, which highlighted that degrees of seven pilots were found to be bogus, while five pilots had not even passed matriculation examination.